Wallboard sheets are widely used in building construction to form, e.g., the walls and ceilings of rooms and the like. Drywall construction involves applying a plurality of wallboard panels to framing (using screw or nail fasteners) and then concealing the joint or seam between the adjacent board panels. A common method of concealing these joints consists of embedding a narrow paper joint tape over the joint/seam region using an aqueous joint compound, also variously referred to in the art as a cementitious adhesive, drywall mud or spackle. The paper tape provides reinforcing strength to the joint system, preventing cracking of the joint compound along the joint line.
After the joint compound has been allowed to dry for a period of, typically, about one day, a thin layer of the joint compound is applied over the adhered tape, this layer being somewhat wider than the paper tape and which layer is tapered out to very thin edges. This second layer of joint compound is allowed to dry, again typically, for about one day and yet another thin layer of joint compound, somewhat wider than the prior coat, is applied thereover. Typically, the layers are sanded or otherwise smoothed between coatings. In this manner a final substantially monolithic wall surface appearance is provided when the surface is covered with a coating of paint, wall paper or other decorative wall covering.
While this process is generally the way walls and ceilings are constructed, the practice is time consuming (on the order of days) and requires substantial clean-up, both in terms of sweeping- or vacuuming-up the accumulated dust resulting from each sanding and washing the required speckling knifes and mud buckets. This method also requires protective gear, e.g., dust mask, to prevent inhalation of dust particles during sanding operations and clean-up.
There continues to be a need in the art for novel materials and methods that can be used to reduce the amount of time it takes to prepare wall board for final finishing, e.g., painting or the like, reduces the associated mess, and also reduces the costs, in particular labor and clean-up costs. The current invention fulfils this need.